Paladin is a mana-based tank whose defensive core is reinforced by Resolve, Bravery, Leadership, and a meaningful Healing lean.
Reading the Paladin profile
Paladin is the most hybrid-looking of the three tanks, but its first responsibility is unambiguous. Threat leads at 1.7; Armor Use and Mitigation sit at 1.6; Vitality and Resolve follow at 1.5. Those five weights create a sturdy, coherent tank foundation. The class also carries the ×1.65 health modifier expected of a front liner and a restrained ×0.8 damage modifier. It uses mana rather than stamina or rage.
The unusual part appears after that foundation. Bravery and Leadership both have 1.4 weights, Discipline is 1.3, and Healing reaches 1.0. No other tank leans this clearly toward resolve, group leadership, and recovery-related attributes together. That does not make Paladin a substitute for a dedicated healer. It means the recruitment profile is more likely to support a resilient, stabilising party member rather than a purely mechanical damage sponge.
What to prioritise when hiring
Threat, Armor Use, Mitigation, Vitality, and Resolve are the first pass. Look for balance across the group. One exceptional value cannot fully compensate for multiple weak results because the class is designed around several mutually reinforcing forms of durability. Bravery, Leadership, and Discipline form the next pass and help distinguish equally strong defensive candidates.
Healing at 1.0 deserves context. It is much higher than Guardian or Warden, whose Healing weight is 0.3, but still well below the 1.5–1.9 range seen on dedicated healer priorities. Treat a good Healing roll as useful breadth. Do not pay healer-level wages for it or allow it to excuse weak Threat. Strength at 1.2 supports the melee chassis; Marksmanship at 0.4 and Spellcraft at 0.6 are intentionally weak recruitment targets even though the class uses mana.
Always verify the generated hero. Weights change probability and emphasis. They guarantee nothing. Traits, current age, wage, and the rest of the roster can make the second-best numerical Paladin the better long-term contract.
Where Paladin fits in a party
Paladin works well when you want a safe tank whose secondary profile supports party stability. A direct healer such as Cleric can create a conservative composition, while Druid or Bard can lean harder into support and teamwork. The correct choice depends on the attributes and traits present on the actual heroes; class names alone do not complete the composition.
The ×0.8 damage modifier means a dedicated damage class still matters. Arcanist provides spell damage, Ranger a ranged profile, and Blademaster physical melee pressure. Select the damage slot by the dungeon and by named party bonuses rather than by trying to make Paladin cover every role. Confirm any proposed bonus in the synergy table.
Race alignment
Aasimar is an obvious data match because Resolve, Composure, Spellcraft, Leadership, and Discipline all lean positive, although Spellcraft itself is not a major Paladin priority. Dragonborn offers Strength, Leadership, Resolve, and Power, with a more physical emphasis. Dwarf supports Vitality, Armor Use, Resolve, and Parry. Human adds modest Leadership, Decisions, and Teamwork without a negative tendency.
Treat these as starting points rather than tier labels. A race can align strongly with secondary Paladin weights and still produce a weaker individual than a supposedly neutral pairing. Negative tendencies also need weighting: an Aasimar reduction to Aggression and Critical Strike barely touches the Paladin’s main recruitment profile, while a penalty to a top defensive attribute would be more consequential.
Common evaluation errors
The first error is seeing “mana” and overvaluing Spellcraft. The class’s recorded Spellcraft weight is only 0.6; the resource label does not rewrite the table. The second is treating Healing as permission to run without a healer. The third is chasing Leadership while accepting a poor Threat roll. Paladin’s flavourful secondary qualities are valuable precisely because the defensive core already works.
Another error is mixing patches. The numbers above are tied to the verified build listed on this page. Use archived versions for historical planning and the changelog to see whether a recommendation is still grounded in current data.
A practical hiring rule
Shortlist candidates who are solid in at least four of the five core defensive attributes, with no disastrous gap in Threat or Mitigation. Use Resolve, Bravery, Leadership, and Discipline to rank the shortlist. Healing is a welcome final tiebreaker. This method preserves what makes Paladin reliable while still capturing the class’s distinctive support-minded upside.